An image shows the passports of the arrested men and forged £20 notes. Photo: Suphapong Chaolan

The police made the arrest at 1am yesterday (Sept 16) at a rented house in tambon Ban Tai after an investigation exposed the four men as the people spending the forged currency.

The police seized 96 fake £20 notes, which would be worth around B86,000, and 2.11 grams of marijuana.

Col Somchai Noppasri, commander of Koh Pha Ngan police, said the four men confessed that they had brought the forged currency with them from the UK to spend during the trip to Koh Pha Ngan. They took turns changing £100 at a time into baht at a privately operated currency exchange on the island.

They were charged with owning and passing fake foreign currency and illegally possessing drugs.

The four men were named as: Adam Carter, 21 and three 23-year-olds; Thomas Moore, Luke Swainston-Thomas and Bradley Turner.